Daily Archives: November 19, 2021

The $1 trillion infrastructure package that Biden signed on Tuesday not only includes increased funding targeted toward improving auto safety, Congress also created a provision that mandates new cars have a monitoring system aimed to prevent intoxicated drivers from getting behind the wheel.

This technology could roll out in new vehicles as soon as 2026, according to The Associated Press, a timeline meant to give automakers time to adapt while the Transportation Department deicides what kind of technology is best to install in millions of vehicles.

Its monumental, Alex Otte, national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving said, according to AP. Otte added the package the single most important legislation that could be the beginning of the end of drunk driving.

It will virtually eliminate the No. 1 killer on Americas roads, she said.

Road traffic crashes are among the leading causes of death in the United States for people aged 154, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that every day, about 28 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes. Furthermore, between 2010 to 2019, more than 10,000 people died every year in drunk-driving crashes.

More recently, NHTSA estimated that 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes of any reason in the first half of 2021, which is a 18.4% increase over 2020 and the largest number of projected deaths in that time period since 2006. Speeding, impaired driving and not wearing seatbelts are theories for the spike.

While there are some convicted drunken drivers that must use breathalyzer devices to gain access to driving their car, new cars may use different technology, seeing the legislation only says the device must passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired, according to AP.

Locally, KEA Technologies in Marlborough is one of the companies working on this tech, creating the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety which are sensors that are made to go into the car. There are two types of sensors: one that uses the breath of the driver and one that when touched, can register blood alcohol levels in the skin.

In total, $17 billion of the new bill is targeted towards making the roads safer. With this funding, the U.S. could see more bike paths and green spaces as well, AP reported.

These arent just numbers; these are family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and fellow Americans and tragically and disproportionately, Black, brown and Native American, Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg said, according to AP. Its not acceptable the level of deaths that were seeing on American highways right now.

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Infrastructure package requires new cars to have technology that prevents drunk driving by as soon as 2026 - masslive.com

Experts have questioned how a controversial energy technology that doesnt currently exist in Australia could be earmarked as a major source of cuts to greenhouse gas emissions in the Morrison governments plan to reach net zero by 2050.

According to the governments modelling report of its technology not taxes plan, a technique known as BECCS bioenergy with carbon capture and storage would be removing about 15% from the nations gross greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

But the approach, which involves burning vegetation or waste for power and then capturing the carbon dioxide and injecting it underground, is not one of the priority technologies the government has picked to support.

The governments modelling report has already come under fire from experts for questionable assumptions and an approach which leaves the gas industry to grow while relying on international offsets.

Experts said it was not clear how the government had arrived at the BECCS figure, with some saying the technique itself was unproven, problematic and ecologically risky.

BECCS theoretically requires three key elements the availability of biomass such as trees, vegetation or waste and land and water to grow it; a power plant to burn the biomass and capture the CO2; and then a geological formation underground close by where the CO2 could be injected.

There was no mention of BECCS in the governments latest progress report on its low emissions technology plans, published earlier this month.

According to the governments modelling report, BECCS removes 38m tonnes of CO2 by 2050 under its technology plan, compared to 253Mt of gross emissions from sectors including electricity, transport and agriculture.

Other scenarios modelled by the government include even higher levels of BECCS.

BECCS is included in many global efforts to map out routes for economies to reach net zero, but remains controversial because of its potential to compete for land and resources currently used to produce food.

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Dr Kate Dooley, a researcher at the University of Melbourne and an expert on how land could be used to mitigate climate change, said based on the governments numbers, about 14m hectares or about 6% of all Australias agricultural land would be needed to generate emissions reductions at that level.

She said: BECCS is an unproven technology with significant land area requirements which at a global scale have been shown to pose tradeoffs and serious risks for resource use, biodiversity, and food security.

Dooley said while Australias size meant there were good opportunities to cut emissions on land, much of this potential came in reducing clearing.

She added: Risky unproven technologies such as BECCS should be avoided in favour of options with greater co-benefits.

Energy and climate change program director at the Grattan Institute, Tony Wood, said including BECCS in the governments planning at all would be problematic because the report says its based on an assumption the technology is not economically viable in absence of incentives.

But theres nothing in the report that describes what incentives would trigger such an investment. Its imposed on the modelling without any justification, but it offsets a substantial amount of emissions.

These are extraordinary numbers to have in a report without any justification of how this would work, how it would happen and what the costs would be.

Tim Baxter, a senior researcher at the Climate Council, said the inclusion of BECCS in the governments modelling was a farce.

The pretence that BECCS will get off the ground at this scale in Australia without careful, intelligent planning is absurd, he said.

Chief executive of Climate Analytics, Bill Hare, said BECCS will likely work but wasnt yet proven at scale anywhere in the world.

There has been little research carried out into the potential for BECCS in Australia. One study, published in 2018, did suggest a potential 25Mt of CO2 could be stored a year by 2050 through BECCS.

But the research, from the University of Melbourne, was based on sourcing waste biomass to avoid the ecological uncertainties and social challenges of dedicated energy crops.

A co-author of that study, Prof Peter Cook, who also consults to industry and government on carbon capture and storage (CCS), said he was not aware of any BECCS projects in Australia and only a small number overseas where government incentives were being provided.

He said a challenge of combining bioenergy with CCS which is among the governments priority technologies is you cant do it everywhere, you need the right rocks or you have to pipe [the CO2] a long way.

He said BECCS was feasible and was among several technologies that would be needed in the future to pull CO2 out of the atmosphere.

But he added: But its much better if we stop putting CO2 in the atmosphere in the first place.

On Thursday, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency released a roadmap to show the growth potential for the bioenergy industry in Australia.

There was no mention of combining bioenergy with CCS. But the roadmap said growing the bioenergy industry could cut emissions, divert waste from landfill, and improve the nations fuel security.

Guardian Australia asked emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor how the emissions reductions from BECCS were calculated for the report, why it wasnt a priority technology, and where the government thought the biomass would be sourced from.

A spokesperson for the minister said in a statement: Consistent with other long term emissions modelling exercises, including work by the [International Energy Agency] and US, the [Global Trade and Environmental Model] includes BECCS.

Analysis by McKinsey does not include BECCS and achieves a similar net emissions outcome to the GTEM model. This illustrates that there are a range of technologies that will contribute to Australia achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

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A farce: experts dismiss government claims a controversial and unproven technology will cut emissions by 15% - The Guardian

GLENDALE, AZ A new radar technology for traffic signals, being tested in Glendale, takes the guesswork out of yellow lights and aims to prevent red-light running crashes.

Every driver has been in the dilemma zone before, the spot in the road where it's unclear how to respond when the traffic signal turns yellow.

"The driver ends up having to decide whether to risk running a red light or getting rear-ended by pressing hard on the brake," said Glendale City Traffic Engineer Tony Abbo.

A few weeks ago, Glendale installed Wavetronix Continuous Tracking Advance Detectors at 63rd Avenue and Peoria Avenue.

"This technology sees a vehicle as it's coming right through from when the time it enters the dilemma zone until the time it leaves the dilemma zone," explained Abbo. "It's making continuous calculations for the possibility of extending that green phase."

Related:Time to Stop: Can longer yellow lights prevent red-light running deaths?

Using radar, the Wavetronix devices detect whether any approaching drivers don't have plenty of time to stop, and they hold the traffic signal on the green light until the driver can safely pass through the intersection.

The detectors can repeat the cycle, holding the green several times for several cars. The system will eventually time out even if there is a car in the dilemma zone, so cross-traffic can move.

"By looking at the crash data before and looking at the crash data after, if we see an improvement, we'll definitely know that we've had success," Abbo said.

The 'hold the green' technology could be especially important in Glendale. An ABC15 Investigators analysis of ADOT red-light-crash data in major Valley cities found Glendale had the worst frequency per capita. ABC15 calculated 95 crashes per 100,000 residents last year.

In 2019, the AAA Foundation found more people died in red-light crashes in Arizona per capita than any other state.

Glendale traffic engineers say they may eventually install Wavetronix sensors on all their major arterials, including Bell Road, Glendale Avenue, and Camelback Road, to make your commute easier and hopefully safer.

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'Hold the Green' traffic technology being tested in Glendale - ABC15 Arizona

Blockchain technology may make it easier to track and report emission reductions

The mighty blockchain technology is not just the bedrock of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. The technology - in simple terms, a decentralised publicly distributed ledger consisting of blocks which record transactions - is also being seen as an important tool in managing the carbon markets.

The overwhelming reason being the transparency and safety that the technology provides.

In fact, a 2019 research paper, Application of Blockchain In Carbon Trading', while noting that many features of the carbon market is similar to blockchain mechanism, reiterated that the technology can make carbon trading safe and reliable, efficient and convenient, and open and inclusive.

Carbon markets is the latest buzzword, thanks to the recently-concluded COP26 Summit. After years of negotiations, a deal setting the rules for carbon markets has been reached at the COP26 meeting. The deal, as Reuters notes, will help in "unlocking trillions of dollars" to combat climate change.

Carbon markets, which aim to eventually reduce greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, allow buying and selling of "credits" that permit an entity (companies or countries) to emit certain amounts of carbon dioxide. In other words, the market allows developing countries like India to sell carbon credits it has earned by switching to less-polluting technologies and rich countries to buy credits to offset their own emissions.

"There is scope for this (use of blockchain) because blockchain can ensure transparency in transactions. There have been concerns about double counting, which it can address, says Manjari Chandra, Climate Offset Projects, Portfolio Manager, VNV Advisory Services. Double counting that Chandra refers to is a situation where two countries in a transaction claim the same emission reduction to fulfil their national climate targets.

Blockchain technology can also make it easier to track and report emission reductions, notes Raj Kapoor, Founder, Indian Blockchain Alliance.

Recently, SDG Exchange, a global exchange for carbon credits, launched a global carbon marketplace which is blockchain-enabled, transparent, third-party verified, and compliant to Article 6 of the 2015 Paris Agreement. All sorts of transactions in the system are in public records via an immutable distributed ledger - records that can remain unchanged. Interestingly, the transactions in the marketplace can be completed through fiat currency, Bitcoin or Ethereum (cryptocurrencies).

Theoretically, the use of blockchain has many advantages, including the ability to enforce commitments upon entities through smart contracts. Yet, the reality is more complex.

While blockchain ensures that once-recorded data is tamper-resistant, it can do little to ensure that the data brought onto the blockchain can be trusted, Kapoor says, adding that powerful countries or companies might be unwilling to participate in a system that makes broken promises transparent.

Another major issue, flagged by Chandra, is that blockchain technology itself is energy-intensive and thus counterproductive for a mechanism that is being used for trading in emission reduction units.

However, some blockchain platforms like Corda and Fabric are considered energy-sober compared to Ethereum or Bitcoin, largely because the former two validate transactions through a consensus method (digital signatures) and not through mining.

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Blockchain Technology: Will It Help Improve Global Carbon Markets? - NDTV Profit

19 November 2021

Morrison & Foerster LLP

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The Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) hosted the virtualconference Digital Health Technology and Regulation DuringCOVID-19 and Beyond, November 9-10, 2021.

Morrison & Foerster's Stacy Cline Amin and Bethany Hillsled panel discussions during the two-day conference. StacyCline Amin, who served on the conference planning committee,moderated a panel discussion on congressional perspectives andconsiderations in the digital health space. Bethany Hillsparticipated on a panel discussion on evolutions in telehealthregulation and reimbursement, with a focus on recent developmentsin 2021.

Below are key topics and takeaways discussed during thepanels.

This panel featured senior staff from both of the FDA'scommittees of jurisdiction, the Senate Health Committee and theSenate Finance Committee, the House Energy & CommerceCommittee, as well as senior staff who led the negotiations for the21st Century Cures Act.

Because of the generality of this update, the informationprovided herein may not be applicable in all situations and shouldnot be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particularsituations.

Morrison & Foerster LLP. All rights reserved

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A walk in the park could soon include getting real-time measurements of pollutants in the air and updated walking routes to avoid the most toxic ones, all while wearing a gadget the size of a smartwatch.

With the support of a $2.78 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Oakland University are teaming up to develop wearable technology able to identify particulate matter pollution such as soot and toxic metals generated by cars, trucks and industrial sources.

When we look at the global burden of disease, particulate matter is by far the biggest driver of premature deaths from exposure to air pollution, said Tim Dvonch, associate professor of environmental health sciences at U-Ms School of Public Health.

Until now, most research required big and expensive outdoor monitors or several-pound devices workers use in occupational settings, he said.

Some of the most vulnerable people to adverse effects from air pollution exposure happen to be children, pregnant women and women of childbearing age, he said. Having an easily wearable device would help monitor the air theyre exposed to, and hopefully provide healthier alternatives in near real time.

Dvonch said the team first started working in wearable technology in 2013 to detect pollutant gases but are now focusing on particulate matter, given that its responsible for an estimated 7 million premature deaths every year, according to new air quality guidelines published in September by the World Health Organization. Thats roughly one in nine deaths globally.

Air pollution and, specifically, airborne particulate matter has a huge impact on health, on respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, and its also associated with a number of other adverse health outcomes, Dvonch said.

Vulnerable populations include prenatal exposures, young children and the elderly, and we know it also disproportionately affects communities of lower socioeconomic status and communities of color who may live near air pollution sources like motor vehicle traffic, incinerators, refineries or power plants.

Within the team, Andrew Mason, a professor at MSUs College of Engineering, focuses on developing the microscale sampling device, while Xiangqun Zeng, professor of chemistry at Oakland University, is developing the chemical sensor technology.

Once the device is developed, Dvonch and the U-M team will oversee field-testing it in communities in metro Detroit, measuring it against existing monitors for accuracy and designing walking maps throughout neighborhoods that are known to have variable levels of air quality, to further evaluate the device.

Many of the pollutants that affect hearts, lungs and brains are invisible to human eyes. And many of the current technologies used to monitor air pollution take days or weeks to collect and process data.

Thats helpful for epidemiological studies, but it doesnt tell you whats going on today, Mason said.

Adding a network of wearable devices would provide unprecedented data about air quality over space and time, helping inform policies and interventions to help protect the most vulnerable, the researchers said.

But developing those devices is no small feat. The research team will need to build technology that can count particles, characterize what each particle is made of, and also determine particle size down to nanometer scale.

On top of all that, the team has challenged itself to become the first to fit such technology into something the size of a wristwatch.

Currently, there is no personal monitoring device available because of the complexity, Zeng said. The most exciting aspect of this project is its significance and innovation.

Dvonch said it will be a challenge to accomplish all of the project goals, but the project team is very organized and efficient, and I expect this will allow us to overcome the challenges we may face.

Not only will the developed monitoring devices from our project be applicable to assessing air pollution exposures across many parts of the globe, importantly, our project will be able to test, evaluate and begin to address these particulate matter exposure issues right here in Michigan communities, he said.

Originally posted here:

Researchers developing wearable pollution-measuring technology | The University Record - The University Record

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--F5, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) today announced that it will participate in Credit Suisses 25th Annual Technology Conference.

F5s presentation will be webcast live beginning at 12:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Interested attendees can access the live webcast via the Investor Relations section of f5.com or via this link. An archived version of the webcast will be available on F5s Investor Relations page.

About F5

F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) is a multi-cloud application security and delivery company that enables our customerswhich include the worlds largest enterprises, financial institutions, service providers, and governmentsto bring extraordinary digital experiences to life. For more information, go to f5.com. You can also follow @F5 on Twitter or visit us on LinkedIn and Facebook for more information about F5, its partners, and technologies.

F5 is a trademark, service mark, or tradename of F5, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE: F5, Inc.

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F5 to Participate in Credit Suisse's 25th Annual Technology Conference - Business Wire

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday called upon all stakeholders to focus on promoting Information Technology (IT) in all districts of the State.

Speaking at the CII CONNECT 2021 Conference, Mr. Stalin said, As you are aware, I have set a target that Tamil Nadu should reach $1 trillion in economic output by 2030. The outcome of the conference should help achieve the target.

He also requested participants to give suggestions for creating a complete technological ecosystem in Tamil Nadu, which the government was ready to implement.

The DMK Government is working towards making Tamil Nadu the number one investment destination in India, he said, adding that he wished the conference would bring new investments in the field of IT and make Tamil Nadu a leading State in the field.

Since 2000, the Tamil Nadu Government and the Confederation of Indian Industry have been jointly organising the Connect conference and exhibition.

CONNECT has brought many new developments in the field of Information and Communication Technology to Tamil Nadu, he said.

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Promote information technology in all districts, says CM M.K. Stalian - The Hindu

StoreDot, a pioneer of XFC technology, whose investors include BP, Daimler AG, TDK and Samsung, has revolutionized the conventional lithium-ion battery by designing a battery cell based on a silicon-dominant anode with its proprietary synthesized compounds. The XFC technology overcomes the major barrier that currently prevents consumers from adopting electric vehicles - range and charging anxiety.

"We are extremely excited by the prospects of this partnership with Group14. This partnership will give StoreDot the potential to accelerate the time to market of our XFC cells and reduce battery cost which can eventually be passed onto customers," said Dr. Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO and co-founder. "It supports our mission of making it easier for consumers to adopt zero-emissions electric vehicles, contributing to a cleaner net-zero world."

Silicon has been pursued extensively as the promising battery chemistry that enables greater energy density. The commercial leader in lithium-silicon battery materials, Group14's proprietary technology complements StoreDot's XFC technology in EV batteries as a solution to overcome known range and charging anxiety.

Group14 counts SK materials, ATL, BASF, Showa Denko and Cabot Corporation as partners in its mission to deliver on the electrification of everything from consumer electronics to EVs and more. With commercial-scale Battery Active Materials factories in the U.S. and South Korea the latter as part of its joint venture with SK materials Group14 is poised to deliver quantities of its mass-market product SCC55 required to meet the demand from the automotive industry.

"As we scale new technologies to meet growing demand in the EV sector, one factor we cannot overlook is the importance of lowering the barrier to entry to EV ownership," said Rick Luebbe, CEO and co-founder of Group14 Technologies. "We see the partnership with StoreDot as a union of the best of both worlds: high energy density and extreme fast charging, both critical elements of the electrification equation that consumers are demanding. With a solution that addresses both of these concerns, we now can forge a pathway to the electrification of everything."

About Group14 Technologies Founded in 2015 to enable the coming electrification of everything, Group14's battery materials breakthrough brings new levels of energy performance to lithium-ion-powered devices and vehicles. Recognized by the Department of Energy for its novel, drop-in ready nanomaterials and reliable industrial-scale process, Group14 serves the global transition to an all-electric future with performance for any use case. Company investors include Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), BASF, Cabot Corporation, Showa Denko and SK materials. Visit us at http://www.group14.technology.

About StoreDot StoreDot is a pioneer and leader of extreme fast charging (XFC) batteries that overcome the critical barrier to mainstream EV adoption range and charging anxiety. The company has revolutionized the conventional Li-ion battery by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, making it possible to fully charge an EV in just five minutes the same time it takes to refuel a conventional combustion engine vehicle. StoreDot's battery technology is optimized for best driver experience with XFC in Li-ion batteries, as well as future technologies for extreme energy-density (XED). StoreDot's strategic investors include BP, Daimler, Samsung Ventures and TDK.

For more information see: https://www.store-dot.com

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StoreDot and Group14 Technologies Partner to Enhance Extreme Fast Charging Battery Technology with Lithium-silicon - PRNewswire